Food affordability remains a global challenge
Fears of persistently high world food prices, sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and disruption of global supply chains, have subsided but food affordability remains a challenge at the household and macro-economic levels, said three analysts on Tuesday. “These risks will remain high” in developing and import-dependent countries, they said on the IFPRI blog.
Biden re-nominates Dean and Schlanger to key USDA posts
President Biden nominated Stacy Dean, a member of his administration since its first days, for the second time to serve at Agriculture undersecretary for nutrition, a post that has been vacant since the Obama era. The president also re-nominated Margo Schlanger, a long-time civil rights activist, for assistant secretary for civil rights at USDA.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Putin’s (lousy) chef: Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman known as “Putin’s chef” for his catering contracts with the Kremlin, was reportedly sued more than 500 times last year for supplying the Russian army with low-quality food. (Newsweek)
California shooting targets farmworkers: Eight people were shot, seven fatally, at two farms near Half Moon Bay, an agricultural community 25 miles south of San Francisco, in an apparent case of workplace violence, said authorities. (Los Angeles Times)
Chickens before the eggs: The grocery store price for eggs is so high that some Coloradans have decided to buy newly hatched chicks and produce a backyard supply of eggs. (Denver Post)
‘Here we go again’: The ground rules for the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans will limit the input of the panel of experts appointed to help the government with the update, writes scholar Marion Nestle. (Food Politics)
Germany wrangles over biofuels: In response to food shortages created by the Ukraine war, Germany’s environment and agriculture ministries want to phase out by 2030 the use of biofuels made from food crops. The transportation ministry, however, says they are vital for meeting climate goals. (Euractiv)
